


Sway

by Luxicorde



Series: FFXIV Write 2020 [2]
Category: Final Fantasy XIV
Genre: FFXIV Write 2020, Pirates, everyone likes pirates right?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-03
Updated: 2020-09-03
Packaged: 2021-03-06 15:34:57
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,280
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26261242
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Luxicorde/pseuds/Luxicorde
Summary: Remember that time the Domans showed up in the equivalent of an old ass fishing boat, somehow crossing what I'm assuming is a few thousand miles (some of which are guarded by pirates who would have demanded a tithe as well as garleans) and the only problems were "the kids are antsy and we're all a bit peckish"?Yeah fuck that.
Series: FFXIV Write 2020 [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1906447
Kudos: 1





	Sway

**Author's Note:**

> So the main WoL party I have has Erastus, Amelius (yes _that_ Amelius) H'arma, and Antoine. I might write for Antoine one day, might not. Who knows.
> 
> Not I.

H’arma looked out over the sea, the swell of the waves rocking the ship. They were starting to calm, and he could smell the rain on the wind. 

That was all well and good, but it wasn’t why Hasthimal woke him up. If it _was_ , H’arma would have tossed him over the rails to see if he was scared of taking a little swim. No, why he’d been woken up at damn-near dawn was because, far off in the distance, there was a little black shadow against the stars. Daisuke had spotted it, only to dump the task of waking up the captain on Hasthimal so he could prepare to investigate. He probably would have gone on his own, too, what with the rumors of small boats being filled with victims of some distant plague. Wouldn’t want to risk the captain as he’d no doubt say, and wouldn’t want to risk sharing as he’d no doubt try and avoid.

It was odd, though. Small boats like that tended to have at least a lantern lit, something to keep bigger ships from plowing through them at night. “Go and wake Charlot up. Most like it’s just a fishing boat, but I want ‘im at the ‘elm just in case.” H’arma lowered his spyglass, stowing it in his coat and rubbing the rest of the sleep from his eyes as Hasthimal left with an “aye sir!” Daisuke wasted no time in showing up once the roegadyn was on his way, sword at his hip with a bag full of rope and other fun things for boarding and looting.

“Captain, I-”

“Save yer excuses, let’s just get it over with.” H’arma couldn’t fault him, boar-headed as he was at times. He was just young, ambitious, had a lot to prove to no one in particular.

Wouldn’t save him from cleaning up after Creature in the kitchen till they made it back to land, though.

Daisuke scuttled off after a quick salute -- H’arma _told_ him to stop with that, this wasn’t the damn Maelstrom -- to the rowboat he’d already started to prepare. It wasn’t long before they were in the water, Daisuke fidgeting with his tail while H’arma rowed towards the darkened ship, if one could even call it that. The boat dragging across the water was the only thing disturbing the reflection of the stars by the time they finally reached the edge. Daisuke tossed a hook up and secured the rope with a good tug. 

The ship itself wasn’t unlike the ones the Confederates used, like a big barge with marid tusks sticking out the front, and a single sail that had seen better days. Much less ornate, though. The sail was ratty and some sort of green-grey with moss. What remained of the paint that used to coat the sides had long since faded, and it was easy to see where it had flaked away. The railing creaked as H’arma climbed up, and he was worried it would snap as Daisuke started to climb, the wood showing clear signs of rot. If nothing else, anyone remaining on the ship wouldn’t have to worry about sneak attacks. The deck was little better than the railings, groaning with each step, even with H’arma’s smaller frame. 

H’arma held up a hand, Daisuke stopping behind him. It was faint, but for a moment he thought he heard something scraping below deck. He waited for a minute, then two, then three before he was rewarded with a cough.

People, then. The alive kind.

Good.

Pulling the pistol from his coat (he had left his axe behind, and a smart move that had been, with how damned heavy the thing was) he moved to the stairs leading down, Daisuke taking his place behind him with sword in hand. H’arma moved the hammer back before stepping down, keeping his ears open as Daisuke did his best to follow quietly. 

The stairs opened into a near pitch-black room, the only light filtered through the floorboards of the deck and what managed to get through the stairwell. H’arma’s eyes weren’t as good in the dark as A’reyza’s, but he could see well enough that, if there _was_ any treasure to be had, it would have had to be small. In the gloom, the only crates there were stacked a few fulms from the stairs. The ones that were open were either food boxes long since picked clean, or half-filled with food that had started to rot, if his nose was anything to go by. Beyond that, a pile of people, all huddled into a mound and shivering, with a lone soldier standing in front of them. Two daggers, dressed in what looked like chainmail, and certainly the healthiest of the bunch.

But that wasn’t saying much, now was it. Behind them was another cough, with some shushing and whimpering to follow. The soldier looked uneasy in their stance, not from lack of practice but simply lack of energy.

“Oh, ‘ells.”

 _Refugees_. The only kinds of people H’arma knew to starve themselves at sea were idiots and refugees, and with the missing lanterns, the barricade, and now the soldier, these people weren’t stupid. Desperate and derelict, yes, but not stupid.

“We have nothing to give you. Please leave us in peace, we only wish to reach Eorzea.”

H’arma put his pistol back in its place as Daisuke descended, not sheathing his sword but certainly caught off guard by the sight and the smell. The soldier -- a woman, by the sound of her voice -- seemed just as surprised to see the raen. H’arma took a moment to rub the bridge of his nose, mumbling about how it was too damned early to be dealing with refugees. He would have taken poor fishermen over this any day, since at least they would have a snack, and maybe a gil or two for the trouble. 

“Captain, we can’t… We can’t just _leave_ them-”

“Quiet! I’ve already ‘ad to wake up in the middle of the gods damned night for this, and now I ‘ave to clean up yer mess as well.” The boy was right, though. Not only was it bad luck to let people starve at sea (and there was no doubt they would without a bit of help), but it was in poor taste, especially since they weren’t Garlean. Doman, from the sound of the accent and what little remained of the edible food. And there were the kids. The bigger shapes he could see he guessed were adults or old people, and they could figure out how to haul up a fish or two, but the smaller ones were no doubt children. 

And from the sound of thunder in the distance, food wouldn’t be the big issue, not in a half-rotted scrap heap like this.

A good chunk of the people pile jumped at the thunder, the children clinging tighter to the adults while the soldier held her ground.

“Dai, row back and tell Charlot to bring ‘er around, and make it quick if ye don’t want to get tossed into the sea by that storm.” 

“A-aye sir!” The raen dashed back up the stairs, scaling the side of the ship and landing back in the boat with hardly a splash. 

The soldier still held her ground, and if H’arma had to guess, he’d say she was either stuck like that or just not a very trusting person.

“I said to-”

“I ‘eard what you said, and I also ‘eard the thunder. Ye either let us ‘elp or ye and yers drown. So either grab anything ye wouldn’t toss overboard and come up top, or take yer chances with the storm.”

**Author's Note:**

> Part of the writing challenge sea-wolf-coast-to-coast has been putting on for the last few years, if you can't get enough here the tag on tumblr is FFXIVWrite2020 (as well as 2019 and 2018).


End file.
